Banks Peninsula A&P Show 2027: the Little River Show returns to Awa-iti Domain

The Banks Peninsula A&P Show, listed on Banks Peninsula and known locally as the Little River A&P Show, returns to the Awa-iti Domain at Little River on Saturday 23 January 2027. The organising Banks Peninsula A&P Association carries the line "Save the date – next show 23 January 2027" on its website (littlerivershow.org.nz), and the Royal Agricultural Society of New Zealand's schedule for the show lists its venue as the Awa-iti Domain, Little River.

It is worth stating plainly, because the names overlap: this is a separate event from the Duvauchelle A&P Show. The Otago Daily Times reports that the Duvauchelle show is run by the Duvauchelle A&P Society at the Duvauchelle showgrounds, and notes competitors moving on to "the Little River show the next Saturday" — two distinct one-day shows at different Banks Peninsula townships, roughly a week apart.

Who runs it

The show is run by the Banks Peninsula A&P Association. The Ashburton Guardian reported the 2025 event as the association's 113th annual show, held on 18 January 2025 at the Awa-iti Domain, and the Royal Agricultural Society schedule records the following edition as the 114th. The association's own site is the primary source for dates and entry details.

Who it's for

The programme is built for Banks Peninsula's farmers, growers and producers and for the wider community that follows them. RNZ, reporting from the ground, called the show "the highlight of the year" for local farmers and described visitors picnicking under the oak trees in the natural amphitheatre of the Awa-iti Domain. Classes and sections reported across recent years span sheep and cattle, fleece and shearing, equestrian events and indoor home-industries displays — the familiar mix of a traditional agricultural and pastoral show rather than a trade-only event.

The venue and getting there

The show is held at the Awa-iti Domain in Little River, the ground the Royal Agricultural Society schedule names as the venue (the "Little River Showgrounds" of the listing). As context for anyone travelling, Little River sits on State Highway 75, the main Christchurch–Akaroa road, roughly 50 kilometres southeast of Christchurch and part of the usual gateway onto Banks Peninsula and down to Akaroa. The domain itself is an open reserve set among mature oaks, which shapes the show's relaxed, outdoor character.

Why it matters for NZ business events

For the business-events sector this is a regional community exhibition rather than a conference or trade fair, and that is the honest frame: it is a one-day A&P show with deep local roots on Banks Peninsula. Its relevance is as a fixture in Canterbury's rural calendar — a gathering point for the agricultural community and the kind of seasonal event that gives Little River and the wider Banks Peninsula district a visitor profile across late January, alongside the separately run Duvauchelle show the same month.